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In Gaiety Burlesk, an etching from 1930, Marsh created a visually compelling, richly detailed image that conveys an intriguing narrative. The print follows a compositional scheme that is typical of Marsh’s burlesque pictures: a single dancer is depicted alone at the far left of the composition. [2] The audience occupies the rest of the image, seated in rows below and balconies above. Although Marsh did occasionally include women in his audiences, the one in this print is all male, although a woman is departing the scene at the far right. Nearly all the men focus their attention on the dancer, displaying reactions that vary from boredom to lust to amusement to surprise to displeasure; only one man at the very bottom faces out at the viewer. Many are rather shabbily dressed, reminding the viewer that Marsh created the etching during the Great Depression. Elaborate architectural details—molding on the balconies, arches, and pillars—belie the seediness of the scene. A few members of the orchestra accompanying the dancer are visible in the lower left corner.
The dancer appears to be on a catwalk that projects into the audience and she is lit from below by footlights. She is nearly nude; she wears a g-string and pumps and holds a drape over her breasts and torso. She is shown in mid-stride, advancing further into the audience, surrounded by her male spectators. Light from the footlights highlights her face, half-turned toward the viewer, and her right arm and thigh. Her eyes are heavily darkened with makeup, her fair hair falls in soft waves to her shoulders, and a half-smile plays on her lips as she regards the men beneath her. Marsh exaggerated the roundness of her buttocks and thighs with dark cross-hatching.
The reaction to Marsh’s burlesque images was mixed. Some critics appreciated the vitality of the images but others were disturbed by the seedy environments and grotesque sensuality he portrayed. Even Marsh’s biographer Lloyd Goodrich, former director of the Whitney Museum of Art and the artist’s friend from childhood, found the burlesque images troubling. Although he appreciated the women’s forthright sexuality, he also noted that Marsh’s dancers were rarely individualized, displayed little character or intellect, and bordered on vacuous. [3]
Feminist art historians in particular have speculated that the lower-class women who worked as burlesque dancers may have had a particular sexual charge for the elite Yale-educated artist. Certainly, his intense attraction to the subject implies an interest bordering on obsession. Curiously, however, the artist focused his own remarks on the men in the audience, not on the dancers: “The burlesque show is a very sad commentary on the state of the poor man. … It is the only entertainment, the only presentation of sex that he can afford.” [4] Rather than pay attention to the vulnerability of the naked young woman in a room full of leering middle-aged men, Marsh used his discussion of the burlesque images to express sympathy for the audience. Regardless of the cultural and historical contexts in which one views the image, Gaiety Burlesk speaks to the complexities of class and gender inequalities in early twentieth-century America.
Notes:
[1] Marsh quoted in Lloyd Goodrich, Reginald Marsh (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1972), 37.
[2] Kathleen Spies, “Girls and Gags: Sexual Display and Humor in Reginald Marsh’s Burlesque Images,” American Art (18, no. 2, Summer 2004), 33.
[3] Spies, “Girls and Gags,” 41, and Goodrich, Reginald Marsh, 38.
[4] Spies, “Girls and Gags,” 34, and Marsh quoted in Goodrich, Reginald Marsh, 37.
ProvenanceFrom at least 1989
Carolyn Green (1917-1995), Winston-Salem, NC. [1]
From 1995 to 1996
Edna Green (born 1950), Winston-Salem, NC, by inheritance. [2]
From 1996
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, given by Edna Green on October 3, 1996. [3]
Notes:
[1] Appraisal, 1989, object file.
[2] Loan Agreement, object file.
[3] Deed of Gift, object file.
Exhibition History2007
The Art of Dance
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (4/3/2007-9/16/2007)
2019
Portraits of the Artists
Reynolda House Museum of American Art (2/1/2019-8/4/2019)
Published References
DepartmentAmerican Art
Gaiety Burlesk
Artist
Reginald Marsh
(1898 - 1954)
Date1930
Mediumetching on Rives paper
DimensionsFrame: 18 5/8 x 16 1/8 in. (47.3 x 41 cm)
Other (mat): 12 1/2 x 10 1/2 in. (31.8 x 26.7 cm)
Image: 11 3/4 x 9 3/4 in. (29.8 x 24.8 cm)
SignedReginald Marsh
Credit LineGift of Edna Green in honor of Carolyn and George Green
Copyright© 2021 Estate of Reginald Marsh / Arts Students League, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Object number1996.2.3
DescriptionOf the burlesque shows that were a frequent subject of his paintings and prints, Reginald Marsh said, “The whole thing is extremely pictorial. … You get a woman in the spotlight, the gilt architecture of the place, plenty of humanity. Everything is nice and intimate.” [1] The subject apparently held enormous appeal for the artist, for he chose to depict it frequently, from every possible vantage point, in different media.In Gaiety Burlesk, an etching from 1930, Marsh created a visually compelling, richly detailed image that conveys an intriguing narrative. The print follows a compositional scheme that is typical of Marsh’s burlesque pictures: a single dancer is depicted alone at the far left of the composition. [2] The audience occupies the rest of the image, seated in rows below and balconies above. Although Marsh did occasionally include women in his audiences, the one in this print is all male, although a woman is departing the scene at the far right. Nearly all the men focus their attention on the dancer, displaying reactions that vary from boredom to lust to amusement to surprise to displeasure; only one man at the very bottom faces out at the viewer. Many are rather shabbily dressed, reminding the viewer that Marsh created the etching during the Great Depression. Elaborate architectural details—molding on the balconies, arches, and pillars—belie the seediness of the scene. A few members of the orchestra accompanying the dancer are visible in the lower left corner.
The dancer appears to be on a catwalk that projects into the audience and she is lit from below by footlights. She is nearly nude; she wears a g-string and pumps and holds a drape over her breasts and torso. She is shown in mid-stride, advancing further into the audience, surrounded by her male spectators. Light from the footlights highlights her face, half-turned toward the viewer, and her right arm and thigh. Her eyes are heavily darkened with makeup, her fair hair falls in soft waves to her shoulders, and a half-smile plays on her lips as she regards the men beneath her. Marsh exaggerated the roundness of her buttocks and thighs with dark cross-hatching.
The reaction to Marsh’s burlesque images was mixed. Some critics appreciated the vitality of the images but others were disturbed by the seedy environments and grotesque sensuality he portrayed. Even Marsh’s biographer Lloyd Goodrich, former director of the Whitney Museum of Art and the artist’s friend from childhood, found the burlesque images troubling. Although he appreciated the women’s forthright sexuality, he also noted that Marsh’s dancers were rarely individualized, displayed little character or intellect, and bordered on vacuous. [3]
Feminist art historians in particular have speculated that the lower-class women who worked as burlesque dancers may have had a particular sexual charge for the elite Yale-educated artist. Certainly, his intense attraction to the subject implies an interest bordering on obsession. Curiously, however, the artist focused his own remarks on the men in the audience, not on the dancers: “The burlesque show is a very sad commentary on the state of the poor man. … It is the only entertainment, the only presentation of sex that he can afford.” [4] Rather than pay attention to the vulnerability of the naked young woman in a room full of leering middle-aged men, Marsh used his discussion of the burlesque images to express sympathy for the audience. Regardless of the cultural and historical contexts in which one views the image, Gaiety Burlesk speaks to the complexities of class and gender inequalities in early twentieth-century America.
Notes:
[1] Marsh quoted in Lloyd Goodrich, Reginald Marsh (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1972), 37.
[2] Kathleen Spies, “Girls and Gags: Sexual Display and Humor in Reginald Marsh’s Burlesque Images,” American Art (18, no. 2, Summer 2004), 33.
[3] Spies, “Girls and Gags,” 41, and Goodrich, Reginald Marsh, 38.
[4] Spies, “Girls and Gags,” 34, and Marsh quoted in Goodrich, Reginald Marsh, 37.
ProvenanceFrom at least 1989
Carolyn Green (1917-1995), Winston-Salem, NC. [1]
From 1995 to 1996
Edna Green (born 1950), Winston-Salem, NC, by inheritance. [2]
From 1996
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, given by Edna Green on October 3, 1996. [3]
Notes:
[1] Appraisal, 1989, object file.
[2] Loan Agreement, object file.
[3] Deed of Gift, object file.
Exhibition History2007
The Art of Dance
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (4/3/2007-9/16/2007)
2019
Portraits of the Artists
Reynolda House Museum of American Art (2/1/2019-8/4/2019)
Published References
Status
Not on viewCollections